J.D. Salinger – Three Stories
Three unpublished works by The Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger have been leaked online through Bittorrent file sharing website What.cd.
A printed copy of works are reported to have been bought through an eBay auction last month for just £67.50, with only 25 copies of the book printed in a very limited run in 1999.
Earlier today scanned copies of the works were made available via the infamous pirate music sharing website and community What.cd, and then soon found their way onto Reddit and IMGUR. In their post on What.cd, the uploader of the works said:
It took me many weeks of research to find that this book existed and many more weeks to acquire it. I will confirm and take with that take responsibility to the claim that these are accurate to the originals.
Not much is verifiable to the origins of this book I have here. At least I will not confirm anything. What I do know is that someone with access to the originals compiled them together in this self-published collection. There is a single UPC symbol on the back that leads no where. Other than that, it’s existence is not well documented.
Enjoy.The book Three Stories seems to be a copy of a collection originally released in 1999. An eBay who sold a first edition of this collection said the following:
Ebay Seller seymourstainglass wrote:
Paperback. 47 pages. On Copyright page it says printed in London in 1999. Copy number 6 of 25.3 short stories written by JD Salinger never published at all and that remain in The Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin Untitled or “Paula” (1941)
The untitled manuscript at the Ransom Center is less a story than a series of scenes not yet sewn together. Whether or not this is some form of Salinger’s lost story “Paula” is pure speculation. However, in a letter dated October 31 (1941), Salinger states that he is “finishing a horror story (my first and last) called ‘Mrs. Hincher.’ ” Undoubtedly a reference to the story described here, Salinger’s letter dates its completion to late 1941 or early 1942.
“The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls” is largely regarded as the finest of Salinger’s unpublished works. While not having had the opportunity to revue all of the author’s unpublished materials, it is hard to imagine a more important work among them
“Birthday Boy” (1946?)
The short story “Birthday Boy” is accompanied by a letter from Salinger to John Woodburn which refers to “both sets of proofs”. Although undated, the letter probably dates to 1951, the year that Woodburn published The Catcher in the Rye. However, it’s also likely that the letter does not reference Catcher, but a short story sent to placate the editor instead. Salinger’s relationship with Woodburn was brief and somewhat bizarre.Images of the First edition http://i.imgur.com/98bfQ8K.jpg
Printing/Copyright details http://i.imgur.com/T7nymsT.jpg
The previously only known copy of the works were left by J.D. Salinger to Princeton Library upon his death, under the condition that they would not be published until 50 years after his death. It is not yet known whether the original publisher of the book of Salinger’s works that was leaked was copied from the book at Princeton or whether it was from an independent source.
